GlossaryPayments & Finance
Payment Gateway
Also called: payment processor
What is Payment Gateway?
A payment gateway authorises and routes online payments between the customer's bank, the card network or wallet, and the merchant's account. It handles authentication and passes back a success or failure.
Why Payment Gateway matters
For online orders, the gateway determines both what you pay in charges and how many customers complete checkout. Failed authentications are a silent, measurable loss of sales.
How Payment Gateway works in practice
Compare gateways on effective cost including per-transaction fees and settlement delay, and on success rates by payment mode. Reconcile gateway settlement reports against orders rather than trusting the dashboard total.
Frequently asked questions
No. A UPI QR settles bank to bank directly without a gateway.